A New York City judge dramatically dismissed the criminal case against three men accused of stealing handwritten lyrics from Hotel California by The Eagles, while criticizing Don Henley for “inherently misleading” witnesses.
Prosecutors alleged that Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski attempted to sell more than $1 million worth of materials and lied to auction houses, potential buyers and police about how they obtained them between March 2012 and December 2016. .
But the case before the New York Supreme Court was dismissed Wednesday after a trial that lasted a week and a half after 6,000 pages of new evidence contradicted the testimony of Henley and his lawyers.
Prosecutors alleged that Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski (left to right) attempted to sell more than $1 million worth of materials and lied to auction houses, potential buyers and police about how they obtained them between March of 2012 and December 2016.
Supreme Court Justice Farber said: ‘Mr. Henley and Mr. Azoff used the privilege to protect themselves from thorough and complete cross-examination.
“It is now clear that both the witnesses and their attorneys, two of whom also shielded themselves from extensive cross-examination, are relying on Mr. Henley’s implicit use of privilege to obfuscate and conceal information believed to be detrimental to his position. “That the lyrics were stolen. This is a basic confrontational violation.”
DailyMail.com has contacted Henley’s representatives for comment.
Horowitz, Inciardi and Kosinski expressed great relief when the case was dismissed and shared warm hugs with their families, who were overcome with tears.
Manhattan Deputy District Attorney Aaron Ginandes moved to dismiss the case against the three men because “the prosecution’s confidence in the merits of this case” was insufficient.
‘The decision of witnesses at trial to invoke, and then renounce, their attorney-client
Don Henley is seen arriving at Manhattan Supreme Court to testify in the robbery trial of three men accused of stealing letters from the Hotel California.
Henley entered the courtroom shortly before 9 a.m. Monday.
“The privilege resulted in the late production of approximately 6,000 pages of material,” he told the court.
‘These late disclosures revealed relevant information that the defense should have had the opportunity to explore in cross-examination of the People’s witnesses.
“Aware that the Court has ruled that a continuance and the calling of witnesses are not sufficient to address the late filing, the Town recognizes that dismissal is appropriate in this case.”
Judge Farber said the prosecution was “inherently manipulated.”
But he added: ‘District Attorney Bragg and the team of prosecutors here, while eating a piece of humble pie, are showing the highest level of integrity and are taking steps to dismiss the charges. I’m impressed.’
Kosinski’s defense attorney, Scott Edelman, reacted to the news of the case’s dismissal, saying, “This case should never have been brought against Mr. Kosinski.
Defendant and rare book dealer Glenn Horowitz arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court
Defendant and souvenir seller Edward Kosinski arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court
‘Evidence from two weeks of trial established that there was no evidence. Sanders had stolen the manuscript and Sanders himself was never charged; the district attorney’s office never gave any explanation.
“There was certainly no evidence that Mr. Kosinski believed the manuscript had been stolen. The evidence established that he put it up for public auction, that’s not something someone who believes a manuscript was stolen would do.
“As you heard from the judge, what was revealed through the late disclosure of privileged documents was an attempt to obfuscate Mr. Henley, Mr. Azoff and the attorneys working with him, that’s what you heard from the judge.”
He added: ‘This case should not have been filed, the DA had many opportunities to drop the case. In the end I congratulate you for making the right decision.
“But frankly, from the perspective of my client, Mr. Kosinski, it’s too little too late and they should have done the right thing from the beginning.
‘In this case, the district attorney was blinded by the fame and fortune of a celebrity and brought a case that would never be brought if it were a normal person involved.
‘This blinded them to the information they were not being given and led to today’s events. We are glad this has been ruled out.
“Judge Farber’s comments about the prosecution witnesses, Mr. Henley, Mr. Azoff and the attorneys say it all.”
After the incident, Henley (pictured in 1976) pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and was sentenced to two years’ probation and a $2,500 fine in February 1981.
The Eagles members, from left, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh pose with an autographed guitar after a press conference in 2013.
While Horowitz’s defense attorney, Jonathan Bach, said: “One of the ironies of this case is that Mr. Horowitz and the other defendants in this case were accused of failing to conduct a full investigation of Mr. Sanders.”
‘But it seems that the failure to conduct a full investigation falls on the other party.
‘It turns out that the information they (the prosecution) were obtaining, in the judge’s words, was manipulated, strategic and designed to present a one-sided view.
‘The late evidence we received casts great doubt on the testimony obtained from the prosecution witnesses.
“In court we refer to it as establishing perjury or at least an inaccurate and tainted record.”
Inciardi’s defense attorney, Stacey Richman, added: “These are three objectively innocent men.” The question now is that now that we have demonstrated our opportunities, where do these men go to regain their reputation?
“We are walking in and out of the courtroom because we are innocent people.”
Lawyers for the three men have not ruled out filing a civil suit against Henley and will assess their rights following the dismissal.
These documents detailing Henley’s arrest for the 1980 overdose of a prostitute will be presented in an upcoming criminal trial.
They confirmed that it is within their clients’ rights to continue trying to sell the Eagles’ handwritten notes and lyrics that were auctioned in 2012, 2014 and 2016.
The defendants acquired the pages through writer Ed Sanders, who began working with the Eagles in 1979 on a biography of the band that never saw print.
He sold the documents to Horowitz, who in turn sold them to Kosinski and Inciardi. Kosinski runs a rock ‘n’ roll collectibles auction site; Inciardi was then curator of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
In a 2005 email to Horowitz, Sanders said that Henley’s assistant had sent him the documents for the biography project, according to the indictment.
Henley, however, testified before a grand jury that he never gave the lyrics to the biographer, according to court documents. He only reported it stolen after Inciardi and Kosinski began offering them at various auctions in 2012.
Henley bought back four pages for $8,500 in 2012, and Kosinski’s lawyers argued that the transaction implicitly recognized his ownership.
But Eagles manager Irving Azoff testified that Henley just wanted the material back and didn’t realize, at the time, that more pages were available and would appear at more auctions over the next four years.
Prosecutors had claimed they did not know there were still another 100 pages and rejected two more attempts to buy some letters for $12,000 in 2014 and the entire set for $90,000 in 2016.